


Noisy Neighbor

by writergrump



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: College AU, Egobang - Freeform, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Neighbor au, alcohol mention, drug mention, this is really stupid and adorable i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 20:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12066216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writergrump/pseuds/writergrump
Summary: Arin’s constantly bothered by his noisy downstairs neighbor. Only, when he goes to confront him, he turns out to be really cute. Oneshot.





	Noisy Neighbor

He appreciated good music as much as the next guy, but enough was _enough._

Arin had moved into this apartment complex only a couple months ago, and already he was considering moving again. He wondered for the five hundredth time, as he listened to his noisy downstairs neighbor play yet another Rush song at full volume, why no one seemed to complain to the landlord about all the noise.

He wasn’t even sure who lived in the apartment below him, but almost every night they’d turn up that goddamn stereo in a poor effort to drown out the party thumping ceaselessly below.

Arin was a college student, and this was his last year. He’d boldly decided to live off-campus, settling for a cheap, small, one-bedroom apartment near campus. It’d seemed like such a lucky buy at the time, but now he wasn’t so sure.

Putting his head in his hands, he let out a small groan of frustration. He was in the middle of working on an animation project, but it was kind of hard to draw when your walls were literally shaking from the noise downstairs.

He didn’t consider himself a very angry guy, but he’d had enough. He’d put up with it for the last two months just because he didn’t want to get into it with a new neighbor, but this project was worth half his grade and he was seriously starting to get a headache.

So, he got up and marched downstairs, determined to give his neighbor a piece of his mind.

When he knocked the first time, no one answered. He figured nobody could hear his knocking over the loud music, but he found the doorbell and pressed it. A loud ringing noise sounded, and a few minutes later a rather disheveled young man answered it.

Arin eyed him. “Do you own this apartment?”

The man grinned lazily, obviously a little drunk. “Nah, you’re looking for Danny. Who’re you, again?”

Arin tapped his foot, trying not to lose his temper with this guy, who didn’t seem to live here. “Arin. I live upstairs. Could you get me the guy who lives here, please?”

Instead of answering, the guy stuck his hand out. “Name’s Barry. Nice t’meetcha, Arin.”

Arin shook Barry’s hand uncertainly, and opened his mouth to repeat himself, when he heard a voice next to Barry say: “Who’s at the door, Bar?”

The door opened a little more to reveal another rather crumpled-looking guy, but in a way that made Arin’s heart beat a little faster. He had a mop of unruly curls and a five o’clock shadow across his jaw. His warm brown eyes, a little glazed, swept over the scene and settled on Arin.

A beer hung loosely in his grip, and Arin detected the faint, unmistakable smell of weed. He opened his mouth, then closed it, surprised that his noisy neighbor was so, well… _attractive_.

The man giggled, snapping Arin out of his reverie. “Hi. Never seen you around before, gorgeous.”

Arin felt his cheeks start to heat up against his will, and he forced a small smile. “Hey, I’m Arin. I live in the apartment above you.”

If anything, the man’s grin got even bigger as he replied, “I’m Danny. You here to join the party?”

“No,” Arin stuttered, trying to remind himself that he was supposed to be angry. “I, um, I’m working on a school project.”

Danny made a face, and Barry wandered off. “You sure you don’t want a beer? That doesn’t sound like any fun.”

“No, really, I just wanted to, uh, ask if you could turn the music down a bit,” Arin blurted, knotting his hands together.

Danny’s look of utter astonishment almost made Arin giggle. “Turn it down? Why?”

“It’s hard to work when it’s so noisy all the time,” Arin replied, almost apologetically. “You understand, right?”

Danny gazed at him, curious, and Arin couldn’t believe the tables had been turned on him so easily. He’d come down here to demand quiet, and now _he_ was the one apologizing!

“’Course, dude,” Danny finally said, swaying a bit. “Just for you, I’ll turn it down, m’kay?”

Arin rubbed his neck, willing his red cheeks to cool off. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“But in return, you gotta come back,” Danny went on, as if he hadn’t heard. He waggled his finger at Arin. “There’s no way I’m letting you run off. Come back again.”

Arin’s heart was in his throat. “I’ll do that,” he squeaked, and stood there, completely baffled, as Danny winked and shut the door.

~~~

 Danny opened his eyes, groaning a little.

Other than a headache, he didn’t seem any worse for wear from the party yesterday. He got up, stretched, and was unsurprised to find his best friend Barry sprawled across the couch.

“Mornin’,” he called to Barry, who grunted in return. Danny picked his way through the mess to the kitchen, where he started brewing himself some coffee.

He thought back to the party, smiling as he went through everything that happened, when he remembered something.

He dropped his cup.

“Barry!” he shouted, running into the living room. “Barry, did someone visit me last night? From upstairs?”

Barry rolled over, peeking out one eye at Danny. “Yeah, I remember that. Some guy from the apartment above you, I think. Arnold? Artie?”

“Arin,” Danny breathed. “So it _wasn’t_ a dream.”

Barry squinted at him. “No, it wasn’t. He wanted you to turn down the music.”

“Yeah,” Danny said dreamily, not really paying attention. “He was really cute, too.”

“Too bad he seemed kind of upset with you for being so loud,” Barry yawned, turning over. “Kind of like how I’m trying to sleep and you won’t shut up.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “Shit, Barry, you’re right. He wanted me to turn the music down.” He ran his fingers through his hair, distracted. “I can’t remember what I told him. Oh, fuck, I hope I didn’t say anything embarrassing.”

“I seem to remember you calling him ‘gorgeous.’” Barry sounded muffled. “Bet you made a stellar first impression.”

Danny covered his face with his hands, mortified. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I gotta apologize, or something.”

“Or something,” Barry agreed, looking amused.

Just then, they both heard a quiet knock at the door.

Danny wandered down the hall, still lost in thought, and pulled the door open.

A faint squeak escaped his throat.

Arin stood there, looking a little uncomfortable. He bit his lip, shifting from foot to foot. “Hey.”

Danny took a moment to assess himself, still wearing yesterday’s clothes and smelling more than a little ripe. His heart wasn’t slowing down, either. “Hi.”

“So, um, thanks for turning the music down,” Arin went on, and Danny couldn’t help but to admire his pink mouth. “Sorry I kind of, uh, crashed the party.”

“No, no, you didn’t!” Danny blurted, then stopped, feeling his face heat up. “Sorry we were so loud.”

Arin relaxed a little, then brought out a small food container. “I made some eggs this morning, and had some left over. I, uh, thought you might like some. I’m afraid we kinda got off to a bad start.” Arin laughed a bit.

Danny took the container, handling it as though it were solid gold. “You shouldn’t have…thank you, Arin.”

Arin’s cheeks tinged with pink, and a thrill went down Danny’s spine. “No problem. Uh, I’d better get back, but tell Barry I said hello.” A grin peeked out, a little mischievous, and Danny had to force himself to look away from his mouth.

“I—I will.”

Arin nodded and turned, and Danny slowly shut the door, staring at the blank wall for a few minutes.

Barry wandered towards him. “Who was that?”

“That,” Danny said flatly, “was the most perfect man I’ve ever seen.”

 ~~~

 Things had changed a little.

Whenever Arin heard the familiar noise cranking up from below, instead of sighing, he’d smile and head down to join the fun. There was always an excited curly-haired man waiting for him.

Danny would bounce nervously next to the door, eagerly awaiting a certain art major’s arrival.

Barry…well, Barry hadn’t changed. He still showed up and enjoyed recounting embarrassing stories about Danny to an amused Arin.

It was only a couple months later, when Arin and Danny were sitting together on Arin’s couch holding hands, that Arin started to laugh.

“What?” Danny asked, smiling.

“Nothing,” Arin giggled. “It’s just so.. _.quiet.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out at my tumblr, writergrump!


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